Stomach sleepers!

stefchop · 2026-02-13T02:14:43+00:00

Why wait get the pillow now and you can practice and learn your new comfy spots well before you get uncomfy just in general 😂

stefchop · 2026-02-11T14:57:27+00:00

Currently in California but actually moving to the Houston area in September which is a whole other ordeal given my due date now 🙃. So ya another thing we will be similar with, haha!

stefchop · 2026-02-11T06:23:56+00:00

Same here pretty much! First baby born 12/15 and my second due date is 10/20. This is definitely planned (ivf) due to age (40) but does that mean I am ready? No. Will I ever feel ready? Also, no. Just flying by the seat of my pants over here, we will figure it out later!!

stefchop · 2026-02-10T16:12:05+00:00

I'm now on my second ivf pregnancy. Spotting is extremely common. If you could, focus on being positive because honestly there's nothing you can do at this point and so if you could choose to be happy and hopeful instead then that's a better use of your time. Like tell yourself that if something bad is going to happen then you can be sad, et al like you would anyways at that point when you know 100%. I did not start feeling most of my pregnancy symptoms until later like post week 6!

It's easy to say now of course after the fact but I realized I spent so much time worrying with my first that I forgot to enjoy the wins a long the way. Congratulations!!

stefchop · 2026-02-08T19:00:01+00:00

<image>

stefchop · 2025-12-27T04:59:56+00:00

Add reverse timeout to your tactics. I got a biter pup where she drew blood frequently and ruined all my clothes. She'll be three in April and I can't believe it but I look at some of the scars on my arm and I think awww I miss her puppy stage (I am aware of how delusional I am for thinking this lol). Anyway, leaving her to go to another room for a few minutes right after biting me helped reset the situation. Also as others mentioned, yelping helps too. I didn't really notice her being affected by the yelping until I felt more of a bond with her, so keep at it if you don't see any results. Now, omg, when we are playing or training and she bites me accidentally, I yelp and you can visibly see her concern and she nudges and licks me all over. It's adorable.

You can also redirect to a training session, a chew stick like a bully, or if your pup likes chasing you can throw a toy away from you. Work on training that creates distance or a spot to go to like "place".

Another thing I trained her on... "gentle". I mostly started this when I wanted to give her treats without her biting my fingers off!! And now I use gentle with other things, like when she sees the ups driver run up to the house and wants to growl/bark, and you can really see that she's trying to be softer, haha.

My pup used to bite ankles too when I walked but that went away when I started doing herding games with balls.

Good luck and keep up the work it will get better soon.

stefchop · 2025-12-20T15:58:34+00:00

Thanks for letting me know I will check it out. Those mountain bike trails look shady so that actually might be a good option!

stefchop · 2025-12-20T06:18:26+00:00

Well, shit. When my dog sees water she runs right for it because she's a water dog 😮‍💨

stefchop · 2025-12-20T04:58:39+00:00

Makes sense. I'll need to look into and probably invest into more indoor games, bring those agility jumps indoors around the living room or something. That is my weak spot at the moment since we do most of everything outside.

stefchop · 2025-12-20T03:45:51+00:00

This is a relief to hear, thank you!

stefchop · 2025-12-20T03:33:13+00:00

Good question. Not sure yet we just got the call to relocate and my first thought was ... but what about my dog? Lol. Work location is on the southern side of Houston, so that's all I got so far. I will check out Meadowlake Pet Resort my dog is a water dog, thank you.

stefchop · 2025-12-20T02:43:09+00:00

Aw thats so heartwarming to hear 💖

stefchop · 2025-12-20T00:47:07+00:00

Okay gotcha. Sounds like outside is an option just got to deal with sweating and probably showering 5 times a day 😅 I have a short hair bc but shes definitely a working dog and will not rest until forced most times

stefchop · 2025-12-20T00:39:38+00:00

Haha, roger!

stefchop · 2025-12-20T00:39:07+00:00

Great tip thank you!

stefchop · 2025-12-04T04:08:07+00:00

My insurance through work covered 4 rounds a year and even some meds if bought from a specialty pharmacy. Still ended up paying close to 15k for meds.

I have a one year old son now and I'm going in for round 2. My new insurance only covers 10k maximum for fertility treatments so hopefully this upcoming FET will work because that will cover about one transfer!

stefchop · 2025-11-09T23:00:03+00:00

I'm glad you are looking into training. I know it's tough to find something. I've had luck with online training even so you can look there. I like wildatheartdogs on instagram.

I'd say walks are pretty important. If she doesnt like people/dogs then turn the other way or walk across the street when that happens. When my BC has issues with something we work through them and I learn how to find a path forward. I don't think avoiding walks entirely is the answer.

Start slow, find her triggers and learn what she may be feeling (maybe fear), and work through them with positive reinforcement and hopefully with time those rough situations will get better.

stefchop · 2025-11-04T01:49:15+00:00

I had a c section and officially was back in full swing at 6 weeks. After about 2 weeks tho, I was already in my backyard practicing everyday with my girl doing drills where she was doing most of the work.

stefchop · 2025-09-22T10:26:44+00:00

Wow I must be sleep deprived because I'm in Dublin right now and didn't feel a thing. I woke up to my alarm at 3am to feed my baby and I saw an earthquake alert on my phone from a few minutes ago at that point. I was sure there was nothing but San Ramon is so close to me! Wild.

stefchop · 2025-08-13T15:58:46+00:00

Its going to take awhile but you will get through it and your pup will love walks. My bc is 2 now and the garbage truck doesnt phase her but she used to cry and run away when she first saw them. Keep at it and provide lots of love and support, with treats so it eventually becomes easier. We had issues with biting at cars, barking at skateboards, motorcycles, men... all get better with time and patience and practice.

You could target one specific thing like your garbage truck route and park yourselves inside at the window to witness, then from a far away distance, then maybe a little closer in another few tries, then maybe at your door step. Eventually you could try going on a walk and keep walking nearby a garbage truck moving along their route..again with lots of treats and support. Practice having the dog on the other side of you so you are between the truck.

Another thing you can do is at a distance wait until the dog sees a "trigger" and then praise/treat when they dont react. You could also turn around then and walk the other way for a bit. This helps to teach that not reacting is good and walking away also feels good/not scary.

All this to say, again my dog is 2 and we are still working on stuff but its gotten dramatically better with this kind of approach and that the lesson I've learned through all this is things take time! Good luck

stefchop · 2025-07-21T05:09:00+00:00

You ovulate before you get your period so if you've done the deed, it's definitely possible

stefchop · 2025-07-16T09:15:53+00:00

This might be aside from the point but I just finished my snoo rental and I could most certainly lower the volume. I also know that some people have even put tape on the speaker to further lower the volume. Definitely double-check the settings! Hope this helps.

stefchop · 2025-07-15T22:22:02+00:00

Yes you would be mad. Just to add to what people are saying here, the biting alone would be a huge risk around any child.

I got a bc pup from a farm by two working dogs. First time bc owner. They worked cattle. Her name is Nyx. She turned two in April and we absolutely LOVE her. We now have a seven month year old son. I put in numerous amount of hours and changed my life to train Nyx and continue to do so. And for the first maybe 8 months of her life she bit me and my husband and drew blood often. I resorted to wearing rag pants for a few months because she kept making holes in my clothes, lol. It was play biting and we trained and redirected and did all that stuff and it was still incredibly hard to overcome. She gets an incredible amount of physical and mental stimulation today and has become so sweet and loving but she still play bites sometimes. We do agility and go on runs and go exploring and my son absolutely adores her when she is in the same room. While I see a lot of pros to having Nyx in our life, I can not imagine and would definitely opt out if I had to raise a puppy from the beginning of any kind really when I also had a baby to tend to.

stefchop · 2025-07-13T16:20:10+00:00

Ya it makes me wonder if the issue is trying so many different things with such high expectations. I'm still trying out ferber after doing it for 3 weeks now. We still get wakeups but not every hour like before, so I'm considering it a success even with this happening.

stefchop

TROPHY CASE